499th Bomb Group ( Very Heavy )

AIRCRAFT COMMANDER

SERIAL NUMBER

HIBBARD

42-24674

source : Ligonier High School 1943 Yearbook
Ancestry.com

Sgt John William Meagher
honored
at

499th Bomb Group Virtual Cemetery

Following this introduction is Jack's story, sent to me by his niece Alice Edwards.
Her mother was Jack's sister Margaret.

Sgt Meagher grew up in the coal mining country of Southwest Pennsylvania.

He was born in Atlasburg, Pennsylvania, 11 August 1924. This town is close to the border with West Virginia

Alice's story clarifies some details concerning the Parrish and Hibbard crews and
additional information is in the Hibbard Crew Section.

He was in his senior year at Ligonier High School when he was called to active duty in April 1943.
The only information that I have been able to locate concerning his stations
comes from a few dental records in his
Individual Deceased Personnel File ( IDPF ).

Reception Center, Fort George G Meade April 1943
Miami Beach 1 June 1943
Keesler Army Air Field 12 July 1943
Keesler Army Air Field November 1943
Tyndall Field, Florida, May 1944

Sgt Meagher's first Aircraft Commander was 1st Lt Eugene F Parrish

There are no documents in his IDPF stating when the Parrish crew departed the Continental US for Saipan.

However, the 878th Bomb Squadron Morning Report has the crew at Saipan reporting for duty on 2 January 1945.

More details are in the
Durham - Parrish - Hibbard Crew Page

The B-29 with Lt Hibbard as Aircraft Commander was lost on 7 April 1945.
Four of the men survived and were taken
to Tokyo Kempei Tai Head Quarters.

Sgt Meagher and Sgt Marek were transferred to the Tokyo Military Prison on 9 or 10 May.
Sgt Spacal and Sgt Gora were transferred to the Omori POW Camp about the same time.

Sgt Meagher was one of 62 B-29 men who died in the Tokyo Fire Raid of 25-26 May 1945.

His remains were identified in early May 1945 and he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Beneath Jack's Story is a photo of Sgt Meagher with his sisters Margaret and Kathleen

The last document on this page is his Draft Registration Card
with a date of 11 December 1942

My Thanks to the following for their assistance
Alice Edwards
Roy Wall
Jim Bowman
Scott Muselin

POW Research Network Japan

 

JACK'S STORY
WRITTEN BY ALICE EDWARDS
used with permission

 

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MARGARET, KATHLEEN, AND JACK MEAGHER

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REGISTRATION CARD

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